This blog is intended to be a series of random anecdotes, videos, and other media about my daily life as a curious foreigner in in foreign countries. From my misadventures, endearing cultural experiences, friendships, and strange encounters, to the coffee shops and language pitfalls, I promise to share it all!
Ever since I was young this time of year(late May) has always proved troublesome when venturing outside. You see, I have the misfortune of being afflicted with pesky seasonal allergies. As many of us share the annoying symptoms of; incessant, uncontrollable, sneezing, and itchy, and sobby watery eyes, it came as no surprise to me to see the culprit of all of this discomfort right before my own scratchy eyes.
You see, in early spring everything is fresh, verdant and in bloom. Early Spring is such a pretty, colorful time of year. However when things begin to dry out, things start to get nasty for us allergy sufferers. Especially in Poland, where in Spring there is a plethora of those dandy little yellow flowers called dandelions. They look so darn pretty when they bloom, however after a few weeks the dry out and decide to leave their flower and blow off around nature and town.
At times in Warsaw, you can see the feathery dried flower blowing through the streets like a snowstorm. You can even see patches of the flower on the ground like a fresh powder. When the wind kicks up, the petals dance and flutter, follow people, end up in taxis, trams, and even buildings. At times it appears that some streets are covered in cotton. It's interesting, however a slight annoyance for us allergy sufferers. At least there are decent enough drugs at the pharmacy and a ready supply of tissues at hand!
I think it must be noted that I am not at all a modest person. I'll impart this information to you without the slightest hesitation. Like the words of Ron Burgundy who claimed that he 'was kind of a big deal around here,' I too think I have some interesting things to brag about. For example, I have played the bass guitar for the past twelve years or so, and have been fortunate to play some kick ass tunes in front of a very eclectic range of characters around the world. For that I am of course thankful, but at the same time quite impressed with myself. So please give me a moment to pat myself on the back.
Now, that's done! I also want to say, this weekend I met with a former band in Ostrava (The Czech Republic,)with whom I had the great fortune to play with for over a year back in 2006. They are a Beatles revival band called 'Beatless.' The fact that the two singers are girls can serve as a clue to the 'ess' suffix attached band name (which is from princess,) as well as the fact that the name is a sarcastic play on words to symbolize a lack of rhythm. Although, like the Bangles they got the beat.
The band plays about 2 or 3 times a month around the Czech Replublic; usually in spa towns. They will usually play around 25 to 30 songs in an evening, and I don't think they have ever made a mistake while I played with them. Anyway, I was invited to play with them in Karlova Studanka last week in the mountains about two hours form Ostrava. I came and played about six songs, said 'dekuju moc!' then sat down and took some photos and made a couple digital camera videos. All of which is located just below for your viewing pleasure! Enjoy!
So in case if you are wondering, last week was my birthday.* I became as old as Jesus. Anyway, in celebration of myself reaching a healthy 33 years of age, me and Justyna visited a Balkan style restaurant called Banja Luka. Named after the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina, this hidden, lively, boisterous, gastronomic wonder fifteen minutes by tram from the center of Warsaw, is probably one of the best little unknown places in Central Europe.
If you are not a vegetarian, and are not prone to sudden fits of disgust from copious amounts of cheese complimenting those juicy morsels of chicken, lamb, bacon, and beef, then this is the place for you. Although, you should also take note that the portions rival any American stake house! Moreover, as prices for trendy restaurants in Warsaw are quite unreasonable, Banja Luka, is a relatively affordable exception. Go with feta-wrapped in bacon starters, then have a feta-wrapped bacon and lamb skewer with rice and potatoes! Your stomach will regret it, but your taste buds will be in heaven. At least you'll be given a complimentary alcoholic digestive to sort out the digestion before you depart. If you go call me!
*please let me know if you want to send me a gift, i'll forward you the mailing information!
Sorry, but some of the photos didn't manage to come out during the vid...don't know what happened!
So, being back in Poland in the Springtime is such a treat compared to the frigid cold temperatures back in January. As a reward for one for tolerating such a pesky winter, we(me and my lovely girlfriend,) treated ourselves to a holiday in the relaxing,verdant, sunny town of Bialoweza. Bialoweza means 'white tower,' which in fact the town duly displays overlooking a sparkling lake in the middle of the town park. However, the highlight for most visitors is the opportunity to gaze upon the local Bison, who graze lazily in the local nature reserve just down the road from the ubiquitous white tower.
Once arriving by bus from Warsaw on Friday evening, checking in, and throwing our bags in our room, we ushered ourselves outside to trek on down the quiet, sleepy road in order to grasp a Bison of a different kind. The local beer is also logically called Zubr, which my poor Polish knowledge tells me Zubr is Bison. Luckily there was a cozy penzion down the road where we able to procure and consume a couple of these strong Piwo. It was just enough to make us feel sleepy. Which was good because we had an early morning on Saturday.
Once our phones collectively woke us up around 8 am, we had some breakfast of home leftovers, and set off down the road to catch the bus to the local Bison Reserve. On the way to catch the bus it finally began to hit me how beautiful spring in fact was. Everywhere in any direction I could see a plethora of flowers in bloom, which seemed to reach every hue on the color scale. It was truly breathtaking. Down the road we paid our two or three zloty to view the Bison, Oxen, Wolf, Polish Horse, sleeping Lynx, and other exotic animals who seemed to be chilling out in the sun ignoring the snapping of trigger happy camera packing tourists. Because of the apparent ignorance of the animals of the giant herd of humans taking photos, I began to feel like I was in a zoo; which left me a little disappointed. Regardless, the weather was nicer than it had been in a long while, and the national park we were trekking through was truly stunning. After poking around checking out the animals and bidding them farewell, we set off back to the town on foot.
The walk back for me was the highlight of the trip. It seemed that the entire park was free to explore and photograph. The two of us spent the entire day walking about fifteen kilometers of mostly flat land through the park and town checking out everything from lakes, gardens, houses, to even an interesting open air museum. For me that was the highlight of the weekend; just being outside in nature. Anyway, it was a very productive weekend of photographing, trekking, Bison watching and Beer drinking. Now back in Warsaw sitting in one of the thousand trendy cafes pumping out atmospheric trance music, I seriously look forward to my next outdoor adventure.
